Achtung! Men too are moved by mushy movies

Mushy romance flicks and tear jerkers are not just for women as a new research has revealed.

Mushy romance flicks and tear jerkers are not just for women as a new research has revealed that men too like romantic movies besides their usual potboilers and action flicks.

According to research by Richard Harris, professor of psychology at Kansas State University, guys like romantic movies, too. Harris said his survey results are surprising and go against common stereotypes.

"Everyone thinks that women like romantic movies and that they drag guys along to them," he said. "What was significant was that the guys also liked the movies, and that the choice to view a romantic movie was usually made together as a couple, not just by the girl."

Using a 7-point scale, Harris asked men and women to rate how much they liked a romantic movie they had just watched. He also asked them to rate how much they believed their date enjoyed the movie and how much they think men and women in general like romantic movies.

Although in the study both men and women generalized that men as a group wouldn't like a romantic movie, when men rated the romantic flick they had just seen, they gave it a 4.8 on Harris' scale. When women were asked to rate how much their dates liked the movie, they gave the same 4.8 rating.

"We found that women really do enjoy romantic movies," Harris said. "They rated how much they liked the movie at about 6 on the 7-point scale. However, we also found that men liked the movies as well. They rated how much they liked the movie at about 4.8, which is higher than most people would have guessed."

Harris said one of the most interesting parts of the study was that men and women both still used stereotypes when referring to each gender in general. Harris said that although men and women thought the specific man watching the movie enjoyed it, both still fell back on stereotypes when they were asked about whether or not men as a group would like the movie.

"When we asked both men and women how men in general would like the movie, both said that men would not like the movie, in spite of what they had just said about themselves or their dates," Harris said.

Both men and women, according to Harris, said women in general would like the movie, which was consistent with results for what the women said about their own enjoyment of the movie. Harris said that this view also is a stereotype, but one that the study supports.

The results of the study could be something moviemakers take into consideration when making a romantic movie, Harris said.